Bill Requiring Photo ID To Vote Defeated In Wyoming House

A bill that would have required people voting in Wyoming to show a current, valid photo ID was narrowly defeated in the Wyoming House of Representatives on Wednesday morning.

The vote on House Bill 192 was 30 against, 29 in favor and one [Rep. David Northrup] absent, on third and final reading.

A reconsideration vote on the bill remained possible, however.

Rep. Tyler Lindholm [R-Crook/Weston Counties], the House Majority Whip, called the bill ''a solution looking for a problem." He said there were no cases of fraud reported in Wyoming during the 2018 election.

Lindholm said the last time fraud was reported in a Wyoming election, in 2016, it was identified because of Wyoming county clerks and the Secretary of State's office doing their jobs, proving that the current the current safeguards against voter fraud are adequate. ''Our system is working'' Lindholm said, adding, "Hence this is a solution looking for a problem."

But Rep. Scott Clem [R-Campbell County] said of arguments that voters fraud doesn;t happen in Wyoming "that is just simply not true." Clem recalled the testimony of a Laramie County man in the Corporation, Elections, and Political Subdivisions Committee about going to vote and finding out he was listed as having already voted.

It turned out that his son--with the same first and last name, but different middle name--had accidentally voted on his election ballot due to confusion over the names. "So this does happen, that is just one instance right there," Clem said.

Rep. Mike Greer [R-Big Horn, Washakie counties] said 'You're voting, a very important part of being a citizen. And to show your ID, I don't see what's wrong with that."

But several other opponents of the bill said that in rural Wyoming communities, where most people know one another, there is no reason to require photos ID. for people to vote